Red Sox Back To Winning Ways, Rally To Beat Rays (68-81)

Doubront had a rough third, but was
strong otherwise

 One one hand, it's good to see the Red Sox winning. On the other, though, it would've been nice to see them doing that while they still had a chance at the playoffs. Still, though, it's good to see them beating the team that did this to them last year in the Rays. The Rays got off to a strong start after not scoring for the first two innings. On three Felix Doubront walks, they loaded the bases with one out. They would score twice when Ben Zobrist lined a ball to center and another on a sacrifice fly for Evan Longoria, making it 3-0. The Red Sox battled back, though, starting in the next inning with a leadoff double by Cody Ross. Ross immediately came in to score on a single by James Loney to cut it to 3-1. It took the Red Sox an inning, but they came back to tie it-- putting runners on the corners with no outs. They scored once when Jacoby Ellsbury singled in Jose Iglesias, and one more on a sacrifice fly for Dustin Pedroia to tie things up.

Loney went 1-4 with a run and an RBI

The Red Sox kept rolling right along in the sixth inning, putting runners at first and second with two away. They broke the tie when Sean Rodriguez made an errant throw to first, allowing a run to score and make it 4-3. They even put together a two out rally in the seventh inning, managing to put runners at first and second with two gone. They advanced their lead when Jarrod Saltalamacchia's single drove in Cody Ross to push it to 5-3. However, the biggest blow of the night came off the bat of Ryan Lavarnway (.155 entering play). Lavarnway knocked a double to center to score two runs and make it 7-3. The Rays weren't done yet, though, as they loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. They scored twice on a Ben Zobrist single to make it 7-5, but other than that, the Red Sox coasted to the comeback win.

Bright Spots:
Felix Doubront- 6 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 5 K, W (11-9)
Craig Breslow- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
Andrew Bailey- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Jacoby Ellsbury- 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB
Cody Ross- 2-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 2B
James Loney- 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Ryan Lavarnway- 2-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Clayton Mortensen- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 BB

Player of the Game:
Ryan Lavarnway- Lavarnway had the key hit with a two-run double, and also went 2-3 with a walk and a run scored-- he is now .170/2/9.

Red Sox Cut It Close, But Fall To Yankees (64-79)

Cook got off to a good start

Last night's game was another good one for the second matchup of this series, however, the Red Sox lost this close one. Both Aaron Cook and David Phelps got off to good starts, pitching scoreless baseball for three innings. However, in the fourth, the Yankees got going, starting on a homer to right-center for Curtis Granderson-- hi 36th of the season. Alex Rodriguez followed him up with a bloop single to center, and he would also score when Robinson Cano went the other way for his 30th home run, over the green monster to make it 3-0. The Red Sox weren't just going to let that sit, though, as Dustin Pedroia came into the bottom of the fourth with a one out double. Pedroia would score when James Loney hit a hard ground ball through the right side of the infield to cut it to 3-1 against the Yanks.

He faltered in the fourth though

It stayed right there at 3-1 for a couple more innings, but both teams were ready to contribute again in the seventh inning. The Yankees started their rally with a single for Derek Jeter. However, just as soon as it had started, their rally ended when Curtis Granderson nailed his 37th home run of the season to right-- making it 5-1. The Red Sox weren't going to sit with that either though, as they came into the seventh with a pair of one out doubles to put two in scoring position. They scored a run when Mauro Gomez grounded out to third and another when Mike Aviles doubled to left to cut it to a 5-3 deficit. Each team's bullpen held it like that up until the ninth with Rafael Soriano on the mound. Jarrod Saltalamacchia led things off by belting his 24th home run to right field to cut it to 5-4. However, that would be all they would get in a tough loss.

Bright Spots:
Chris Carpenter- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB
Dustin Pedroia- 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B
James Loney- 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 3-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 1-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 K
Pedro Ciriaco- 0-4, 1 LOB
Cody Ross- 0-4, 3 K, 2 LOB
Scott Podsednik- 0-2, 1 K, 1 LOB
Jose Iglesias- 0-2, 1 K, 1 LOB

Player of the Game:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- Could Salty's slump have come to an end? He went 3-3 with a double, two runs scored, and a home run last night-- he is now .232/24/54.

Ross, Lavarnway Homer As Sox Break Skid (63-74)

Bailey nailed down his second nave

Finally that miserable losing streak is over as the Red Sox finally edged the Mariners to end a seven game losing skid. Jon Lester (8-11, 5.01) got off to a bit of a rocky start, allowing Dustin Ackley to single to start the ballgame. Ackley stole second and advanced to third on a ground ball to put him there at third with two outs. Jesus Montero came up and drove him in with an RBI single to right to put the Mariners on the board 1-0. Lester held the Mariners scoreless in the second inning but ran into a bunch of trouble when he opened up the third. Franklin Gutierrez came up and crushed a home run over the head of Jacoby Ellsbury to dead center field. He was followed up immediately by Kyle Seager who knocked a no doubter to right field to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead on Seager's 16th homer.

Ross had a three-run homer

Jon Lester settled down from that point and tossed scoreless baseball for his next three innings of work. He would manage to get the win as well, as the Red Sox put together a little rally of their own in the top of the sixth. Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury each singled to right field to put runners at first and second to start off the inning. That was when Cody Ross came up and drove a ball to deep left field, well out of the ballpark to bring in all three runs possible and tie the game up at 3-3. The next two batters got out to leave Ryan Lavarnway (who entered the game batting .174) to fend for himself with two outs. He did just that as he drove one off the scoreboard in the left field on a big home run to give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead. The bullpen came together for a win and Andrew Bailey pitched a good ninth to pick up his second save.

Bright Spots:
Vicente Padilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB
Andrew Bailey- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, SV (2)
Dustin Pedroia- 2-4, 1 R, 1 BB
Cody Ross- 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
James Loney- 2-4, 1 2B
Ryan Lavarnway- 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Jose Iglesias- 1-3, 1 2B

Dull Spots:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 0-4, 1 K, 2 LOB

Player of the Game:
Cody Ross- Ross was only 1-4 in last night's game but he absolutely had the biggest hit of the night with a three run homer-- he is now .274/20/74.

Weekly News

The Red Sox' season just got more depressing with a miserable 1-6 involving three game sweeps by both the Angels and A's after a win against the Royals. However, one bright spot was James Loney, who batted .316/1/2 in his first week in Boston and is now .258/5/37 this season between the Dodgers and Red Sox. The Pitcher of the Week is Clay Buchholz, who didn't even pitch all that well-- allowing four runs in seven innings in a no-decision against the Angels on Tuesday. That's Buchholz's team-leading eighth Pitcher of the Week Award this year and he's now 11-4, 4.50 this season. The Performance of the Week goes to James Loney's 3-4 night on Friday-- he also drove in a run with his fifth home run of the year. Finally, the Game of the Week obviously goes to the only win of the week when the Red Sox beat the Royals 5-1 on Monday. In the upcoming week, the Red Sox will play three games in Seattle before three more at home against the Blue Jays.

Angels Sweep Sox Again After Tough Loss (62-70)

Lester allowed five runs in eight innings

This game pretty much exemplified this season, the pitching was bad from their ace, their offense couldn't hit when it counted, and the game wasn't even particularly close. The Angels jumped out to a lead in the first after Mike Trout walked and Torii Hunter singled, putting runners at the corners. Both runners came home when Albert Pujols knocked a double on a ground ball down the third base line and past the diving Pedro Ciriaco. However, the Red Sox bats got right to work as they loaded the bases on two walks and a single with one out. They got one run back when Mike Aviles drove in James Loney with a sacrifice fly. However, the Angels didn't stop in the third, as they got into a good scoring position with a pair of one out singles.

Loney hit his first Red Sox HR

Back-to-back singles by Mark Trumbo and Alberto Callaspo would net the Angels two more runs to make it 4-1. The Angels just kept on rolling over Jon Lester (8-10, 4.98) in the fourth when they put runners at first and third with no outs. They scored a run on a double play ball by Mike Trout which increased the Angels lead to four runs at 5-1. There was a rare scoreless inning in the fifth but the Red Sox cut into the Angels' lead a bit in the sixth. On a weird hit, James Loney turned a low-inside curveball (not a bad pitch by any means) into a hard line drive home run to right field to make it 5-2. However, that would be one of relatively few blemishes in a great outing for Zach Greinke as he exited after the seventh with a line of 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K. The Angels relief corps (an inning of Kevin Jepsen and an inning of Ernesto Frieri) shut down the Red Sox for the next two in a rough loss.

Bright Spots:
James Loney- 3-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 2-3, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Scott Podsednik- 0-5, 3 K, 2 LOB
Jacoby Ellsbury- 0-4, 1 K, 2 LOB
Pedro Ciriaco- 0-4, 1 K, 2 LOB

Player of the Game:
James Loney- Loney had his first good night in a Red Sox uniform as he knocked a home run and scored another run in a 3-4 night-- he is now .412/1/4 in Boston.

Red Sox Fall On Walkoff Heartbreaker (62-68)

Buchholz raised his ERA to 4.50

Last night was a very heartbreaking game as the Red Sox held the lead up until the cusp of winning, as Alfredo Aceves blew another save. The Angels started off the game very early, jumping to a 1-0 lead as leadoff hitter Mike Trout homered on the second pitch Clay Buchholz (11-4, 4.47) threw. He was followed up by a walk to Torii Hunter, who advanced to third on an Albert Pujols single. Hunter would eventually score on a sacrifice fly for Mark Trumbo to make it 2-0. The Red Sox would get one of those runs back when Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove one deep to right-center for a solo home run-- his team-leading 22nd of the year. However, it would be in the fourth that the Red Sox really cut loose, loading the bases with no outs to start the inning. They would score a pair of runs on RBI singles by James Loney and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and another when Ryan Kalish grounded into a double play to make it 5-2.

Saltalamacchia hit home run #22

It took them till the sixth, but the Angels still weren't quite done with Clay Buchholz. They got back one run on a deep home run to center for Albert Pujols, cutting it to 5-3. With two outs in the inning, a Mark Trumbo walk as Howie Kendrick proceeded to double perfectly into the gap in left-center to score Trumbo from first and cut the Red Sox' lead to one run. Buchholz would last one more inning after that, exiting the game with a solid but certainly not great line of 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K-- he is now 11-4, 4.50 this season. Closer Alfredo Aceves entered the game for the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 inning in his first game back from a three-game suspension. However, come the ninth, there were some problems as a walk and a hit by pitch with one out set up a big inning. A Mike Trout single tied things up at 5-5, and it was a Torii Hunter sacrifice fly that did the damage with a sacrifice fly as the Angels walked off.

Bright Spots:
Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-4, 2 R
Ryan Lavarnway- 1-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 RBI
James Loney- 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Alfredo Aceves- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Scott Podsednik- 0-4, 1 K, 1 LOB
Jose Iglesias- 0-4, 1 K, 2 LOB

Player of the Game:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- Saltalamacchia had a big game last night, going 2-4 with a solo home run and RBI single-- he is now .231/22/52.

Dice-K Powers Sox To Series Win Over Royals (62-67)

Matsuzaka went seven strong innings

The Red Sox have gotten off to a good start in the post-Gonzalez realm as they edged out a win yesterday before a fairly easy feel good win at Fenway Park today. The game got off to a predictable start with Daisuke Matsuzaka on the mound as he walked the leadoff hitter Jarrod Dyson and allowed him to steal second. Dyson would eventually score on a sacrifice fly for Alex Gordon but as it turned out, Matsuzaka really settled down from there on. The Red Sox got that early run right back in the bottom of the first when Jacoby Ellsbury belted a solo home run just over the three foot wall in right. Neither team scored in the second inning, but the Red Sox put a little rally together in the third inning. Two one out singles for Scott Podsednik and Dustin Pedroia set up an eventual two-run single for Cody Ross to make it 3-1.

Cody Ross went 2-4 with 3 RBIs

After strong fourth and fifth innings for Luke Hochevar (7-11, 4.95), he ran into trouble again facing the Red Sox' bats in the sixth inning. With one out, Jacoby Ellsbury and Cody Ross knocked back-to-back doubles as Ross drove in Ellsbury and also put himself in scoring position. He would extend the lead to 5-1 when James Loney drove him in with a single up the middle. Those would be the last runs of the ballgame for either side as Daisuke Matsuzaka settled down to really have a great day in his grand return to the majors-- finishing with a line of 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K and earning his first win of the year. After his departure, Clayton Mortensen and Vicente Padilla combined for a scoreless eighth and Andrew Bailey walked one in an otherwise shutdown ninth. Overall a good win in Boston.

Bright Spots:
Daisuke Matsuzaka- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (1-3)
Andrew Bailey- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB
Scott Podsednik- 2-4, 1 R
Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Cody Ross- 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI
James Loney- 1-4, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 0-3, 1 K, 1 LOB
Mike Aviles- 0-3, 1 LOB
Pedro Ciriaco- 0-3, 2 K

Player of the Game:
Daisuke Matsuzaka- Matsuzaka had his best start in a long time for the Red Sox, allowing one unearned run and striking out six in seven innings-- he is now 1-3/5.10/20.

Red Sox Edge Royals Behind Ciriaco, Ross (61-67)

Doubront had a bad inning

This was a great game in so far as the Red Sox won, it was some good baseball, and there were a few strong individual performances-- all great in the position the Red Sox are in right now. The Red Sox took off to a 1-0 lead in the first, scoring when Cody Ross drove in Pedro Ciriaco with a single. They scored again in the second inning when Mike Aviles hit a high fly ball off the monster, scoring Mauro Gomez all the way from first to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. Felix Doubront held the Royals in check for the next few innings, but they finally got to him in a big fourth inning. With two outs and two strikes, the Royals put together a sustained rally--starting with singles by Eric Hosmer and Johnny Giavotella. They scored one run when Tony Abreu hit a soft liner to left for an RBI single and they scored three more when Lorenzo Cain drilled one into the monster seats in left to make it 4-2.

Loney made his Red Sox debut

However, the Red Sox came back in the fifth-- starting with a one out solo home run for Pedro Ciriaco. After that, the Red Sox managed to put runners at the corners for James Loney. In his second at bat with the Red Sox, Loney took a first pitch fastball up the middle for an RBI single to make it 4-4. After putting runners at first and second with no outs, the Red Sox finally scored on a two out RBI single by Jacoby Ellsbury. They did some more damage in the seventh as they loaded the bases with two outs. Scott Podsednik hit a seemingly inning ending ground ball but in a Buckner-esque play, the ball rolled right through Alcides Escobar's legs for a run. They scored another on an infield single by Pedro Ciriaco. The Royals scrambled for two runs in the eighth on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single (Tony Abreu again!). However, the Red Sox got one back on a homer for Dustin Pedroia to make it 8-6 and won.

Bright Spots:
Craig Breslow- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K
Mark Melancon- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K, SV (1)
Pedro Ciriaco- 3-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI
Dustin Pedroia- 2-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Cody Ross- 2-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 RBI
James Loney- 1-5, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Nobody!

Player of the Game:
Pedro Ciriaco- Ciriaco did a fantastic job leading off, going 3-5 while scoring two runs, driving in two more, and knocking a home run-- he is now .360/2/16.

Crawford, Beckett, Gonzalez Gone In Huge Blockbuster

After tons of trade rumors last night involving the possibility of Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford going to Los Angeles, the deal is going to be finally made official today. Also included in this major blockbuster is Nick Punto as the Red Sox have freed up nearly $250 million in payroll space over the next several years and will take about $60 million off of 2013's guaranteed contracts. In return, the Red Sox will acquire first baseman James Loney (.254/4/33), who will probably fill in for Gonzalez for the rest of 2012. Along with Loney, the Red Sox acquired four prospects in the deal; #2 Dodgers' prospect Allen Webster plus Rubby De La Rosa, Ivan DeJesus, and Jerry Sands. Webster and De La Rosa are each highly ranked Dodgers' pitching prospects who are each close to major-league ready. Webster is 6-8 with a 3.55 ERA in Double-A Chattanooga and De La Rosa is coming off Tommy John Surgery but was 4-5 with a 3.71 ERA in 13 games in MLB last year. Sands (.303/24/101) and DeJesus (.295/3/33) have each had success in Triple-A, but haven't quite figured it out yet at the major league level-- .174/0/1 and .273/0/4 respectively. However, a change of scenery could help them out and Webster and De La Rosa should be elite pitching talent very soon. This deal is huge financially for the Red Sox as much as I hate to see Gonzalez go, it may be the right move.